Recently our mouse has decided that not only is the birdseed food, but so is the trap I'd left out. (I closed it before leaving 2 weekends ago, and found it not only open, but moved, on my return.)

Yesterday I went by the hardware store on Stadium and bought both another pair just like the "food" ones (which have hosted to date 4 mice, at least 3 of them distinct) AND a different sort -- a large metal cage-like trap that will hold "30 ratones". It's kind of cool -- it resets itself.

This morning, the familiar trap was still set, the bucket with food at the bottom was empty but for food, but I didn't even need to stoop and shine a light to see that the large metal one was occupied. A tiny white inquisitive nose was peeking out.

It was late enough, that I piled us into the car and drove to a nearby park. I'm not SURE it was different from the very first mouse (the bouncy one with big ears) I caught. I think both the colors and the personality were a little different, but I was at a different angle, and s/he's a bit older and more experienced now.

So when I get home "at midnight" I'll need to figure out how to clean this trap, do so, and reposition it.

I think it's not quite so frightening for the critters. The only mess I saw was the debris from the birdseed I baited it with. This one seemed to have an "I'm trapped; may as well eat" mindset.

You should start taking pictures of them, then you can compare them to each other to find out if it's the same mouse coming back or a relative. Myself, I haven't seen a live mouse in the house, ever. If one should get in, the cats kill it before showing it to me.

That's an idea. (Besides, they're darned cute!) Although, I'm not sure how to do it in practice -- In the little mouse-sized containers, sometimes they need encouragement to come out, and usually they need me to hold the door open. The new one is a little difficult to open (2 handed) -- I think I'd need a photographer to come along on the release. Once they're out, other than the stupid one that I thought wouldn't live long, they were GONE.